"I have been to a presentation given by some of the contributors to this book (The Natural Advantage of Nations) and found it inspiring as the editors were young professionals who got together to talk about sustainability issues and found that they were frustrated at not 'doing'. So they did by contacting key people in the field of sustainability and this book is the result."Leonie Newnham (International Federation of Surveyors Newsletter 3/05)

The
Natural Edge Project (TNEP) is a collaborative partnership
for research, education, and policy development on
innovation for sustainable development.

TNEP's mission is to contribute to and succinctly
communicate leading research, case studies, tools,
policy and strategies for achieving sustainable development
across government, business and civil society. Driven
by a team of early career Australians, the non-profit
Project receives mentoring and support from a range
of experts and leading organisations in Australia
and internationally.

TNEP's
main activities involve undertaking research, creating
education material and curriculum, and advising on
industry and economic development policy. This research
is supported by a range of grants, sponsorship (both
in-kind and financial) and donations. The project
is based at Griffith University and ANU and they provide
oversight and financial accountability for the use
of TNEP funds. Previous to this The Institution of
Engineers Australia incubated and hosted TNEP as a
special project from 2002-2006.

TNEP undertakes a range of action
research activities to inform and further develop
its research program, including delivering short courses,
workshops, design charrettes, strategic planning sessions
and conference presentations and to build industry
experience and relationships.

Project
Focus

During
the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable
Development (2005 – 2014), we are focused on
making sustainability relevant to this and future
generations as we undertake the following actions:

Engaging in and facilitating discussion on best
practice in sustainable

development.

Engendering cooperation and collaboration across
sectors, disciplines and qualifications to accelerate
the transition to a sustainable future.

Identifying knowledge gaps and undertaking original
research on how to operationalise sustainable development.

The Natural
Edge Project seeks to achieve its mission through
a range of initiatives that will deliver:

Peer reviewed and endorsed material (including
books, education modules, study guides and online
resources) with a range of leaders in the field.

Short courses and training programs in partnership
with professional bodies, vocational and higher
education institutions, and organisations.

Action research projects with a range of organisations,
helping them to achieve a profitable transition
towards sustainable practice and informing TNEP research programs.

Opportunities for generational exchange and mentoring
through keynote lectures, seminars, forums and interactive
sessions with national and international leaders
and experts.

Project
Background

As the initial
team was made up of young engineers and scientists
with Charlie Hargroves,
Cheryl Desha, and James
Moody having each previously been volunteer Presidents
of state chapters of Young Engineers Australia (a
group of Engineers Australia), and Mike
Smith being active in the science community, the
logical place to start when we formed TNEP in September
2002 was the engineering professional body, the Institution
of Engineers Australia, and the leading Australian
science research body, the Commonwealth Scientific
and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

The
team approached both the Engineers Australia Director
for Engineering Practice, Martin Dwyer and the then
Director for Marketing and Communication, Steve Williamson,
with the proposal for the publication of 'The
Natural Advantage of Nations' and the response
was amazing! The Institution agreed to become the
administrative host for the project as a form of in-kind
support, providing strong accountability as to the
use of funds and also making the first financial contribution
to the project, both direct and through corporate
services, and becoming the first Foundation
Partner.

Since
this time, the members of the project have received
a great deal of mentoring and support from many of
the Institution’s leaders, such as Dr Peter
Greenwood, Doug Jones and Prof. Andrew Downing (Past
Presidents), John Boshier (ex-CEO), Barry Grear AO
(ex-CEO), and a number of staff members such as Martin
Dwyer, Steve Williamson, Paul Varsanyi, Julie Armstrong,
Ann Ryle and Peta Lindsay.

With
this strong base we then turned our attention to CSIRO
and again received a great deal of mentoring from
both Geoff McAlpine and Elizabeth Heij. CSIRO also
agreed to become a Foundation Partner and make a
strong financial contribution to the Project.

In addition to these groups, our team approached Ron
Clarke, a world-record holding Olympic athlete, who
was at the time heading up the Centre for the Encouragement
of Philanthropy in Australia (CEPA). In this group
we found a very receptive partner

The
initial support from Engineers Australia, CSIRO and
CEPA Trust our team as well as a personal contribution
from the projects co-founder, James Moody, enabled
the team to focus on the development of the publication,
'The Natural Advantage of Nations'.

The
team also gained significant support from partners
such as the RMIT Global Sustainability Unit, Queensland
EPA Sustainable Industries Division, Environment Business
Australia, Barton Group, Hatch Engineering and, through
the donation of our website, by Australian web developer
Izilla.

While developing The Natural Advantage of Nations,
the team was able to undertake an extensive programme
to meet with a range of leaders in the field, both
in Australia and internationally, to discuss the various
issues and learn from their wealth of experience and
knowledge. Following this, our team developed a précis
of the argument we intended to develop in the publication
and invited peer review and comments from our newly
formed network. Realising that we needed to ensure
the work built on from the best in the field, we approached
the likes of Amory Lovins, Hunter Lovins, Bill McDonough,
Alan AtKisson, Michael Fairbanks and David Suzuki
and were given strong support in each case, which
heavily influenced the development of the publication.

The
Project's Advisory Board
provides high level advice and mentoring, and each
of the organisations involved were invited to nominate
an operational representative to the projects Steering
Committee to provide a clear point of contact
and input on operational issues such as peer review,
the contribution of case studies and media related
material. A volunteer Working
Group was also formed to engage other young professionals
and researchers in sustainable development related
activities.

Our team is grateful for the amazing level of support
received in developing this project. In hindsight
we set ourselves a difficult task of building a network
around the development of a project and doing our
best to ensure that the key groups, peak bodies and
individuals were involved. This called for many hours
of conversation, emails, proposal writing and research,
adding significantly to our cost and time to deliver
our first publication. However, ‘the process
is as important as the product’, and the genuine
level of engagement achieved throughout the project
by undertaking such a task allowed us to build a strong
collaborative network.

With the generosity of TNEP’s partners and the
spirit of genuine partnerships we are confident that
TNEP is now a part of the move toward a sustainable
future. TNEP activities are not-for-profit, supported
initially by our founding partners, and now supported
by a range of in-kind and financial supporters and
grant providers. Such support and revenue raised is
invested directly in existing project work and the
development of initiatives - in Australia and internationally.We
hope that peak bodies globally support the genuine
initiative of its young scientists and engineers,
as CSIRO and Engineers Australia have done here in
Australia.

TNEP Core Partners in Research, Education and Policy Development

Website created as an in-kind donation, and now serviced by Izilla Pty Ltd, with hosting provided by Melbourne IT.

Between 2007 and 2010 TNEP was provided in-kind administrative hosting by Griffith University and the Australian National University, previously by Engineers Australia. From 2011 onwards TNEP has been co-hosted by QUT, Curtin University and the University of Adelaide.